The San Diego Padres

10/19/2008-5:00pm est:the news that a certain NL ace (some guy named “J.Peavy…” heard of him?) is likely to be traded in the coming weeks. Let’s take a look back at the Peavy-mania and other notable stories of the past week:

• October 13, 2008: Peavy-Mania officially begins. Since then it’s been Peavy, Peavy, Peavy, and, oh yeah… more Peavy. The current frontrunners appear to be the Braves, with possible centerpieces including Yunel Escobar, Tommy Hanson, and Jason Heyward. A combination of those would certainly be appealing, but it sounds unlikely that more than one is available. Peavy would like to remain in the NL, and other possibilities have included the Dodgers, Astros, and Cardinals, though none seem to match up nearly as well as Atlanta. Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal analyzed some of Peavy’s suitors, and seems to be leaning towards the Braves as well. Braves fans don’t seem thrilled with the concept of giving up Escobar, Hanson, or Heyward. Personally, Peavy leaving PETCO wouldn’t worry me. He’s posted three dominant seasons away from PETCO, and clearly has the stuff to be dominant in any park. Facing the facts, any team is going to have to give up more than they’re comfortable with to land Peavy, because otherwise Kevin Towers won’t pull the trigger. This isn’t Johan Santana giving his team an ultimatum like we saw last offseason; Towers is in the driver’s seat.

10-13-2008-8:34pm est:

10-20-2008 9:16am est:not a fan of the American League or New York, so don’t look for him to land with the Yankees or Mets.  The Mets don’t seem interested anyway.

10-20-2008 4:14pm est:

According to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are not a serious player for J.Peavy.  Miklasz’s Cardinals sources downplayed the idea and noted that they’ve only had one conversation with the Padres.

As Miklasz says, it could be the money, the prospects, or both.  Viva El Birdos believes it would limit roster construction.  If the Cardinals take a pass and the Astros don’t have the goods, it might be down to the Braves, Dodgers, and Cubs.

San Diego Union Tribune’s Bill Center talked to Padres manager Bud Black about Brian Giles, who could be a free agent after the season.

And do you pick up Giles $9 million option for 2009 or let him walk into free agency with a $3 million buyout?

“Brian still gets it done,” Padres manager Bud Black said last night after the Brewers snapped a four-game losing streak and inched to within four games of the plummeting Chicago Cubs in the National League Central race.

“Brian is a mainstay player.”

While Black thinks Giles is a mainstay, the Padres front office obviously feels differently. Buster Olney says he heard that “the Padres were livid when Giles vetoed the trade that they pursued with the Red Sox in August.”

Will The San Diego Padres buy out Giles after this season? If you believe the rumors that the franchise is looking to cut payroll, then it makes sense that they would.

Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.

By Tim Dierkes

Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes of a rumor that The San Diego Padres might slash payroll from this year’s $73.6MM way down to $40MM.  The Padres reportedly explained this scenario to Brian Giles in an attempt to get him to accept a trade to Boston last week.  Krasovic heard about the pitch via Giles’ teammates, but wasn’t able to draw any comments from GM Kevin Towers.  Scott Miller believes owner John Moores’ divorce is a factor.

The Padres don’t have any large contracts on the books for ‘09; Giles would be their most expensive player at $9MM unless they choose his $3MM buyout.  After that it’s Jake Peavy at $8MM, Khalil Greene at $6.5MM, Chris Young at $4.5MM, and Adrian Gonzalez at $3MM.  By my count they have six arbitration-eligible players, including Josh Bard, Heath Bell, Scott Hairston, and Jody Gerut.  The Padres could retain Giles and still be under $45MM, though that’d leave no money for free agents

2:17pm: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Giles would have vetoed a deal to the Rays as well.  Cafardo believes the Red Sox will continue to monitor the waiver wire for a bench bat.  Amalie Benjamin says the Sox weren’t broken up about Giles’ decision, and trade talks didn’t get too far.

12:55pm: It’s official – Giles has blocked the deal.  The window has closed.   You may recall he originally took less to sign with the Padres back in ‘05.

12:35pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says Giles plans to block a trade to Boston.

Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday, “the move was apparently designed as a block to prevent the Tampa Bay Rays from claiming Giles, sources say.”

4:34pm: Tom Krasovic has further musings on the Giles situation.  He wonders if the Red Sox could rent Giles for the rest of the season and then let him go back to the Padres as a free agent.

THURSDAY, 11:06am: Interestingly, the Red Sox won the claim on Giles.  Their intent was to block the Rays, according to Ken Rosenthal.  Giles can veto a trade to Boston, and he might simply because his playing time could be reduced.  Also, I have learned that Giles would still be able to veto a straight salary dump.  The Padres can’t use this situation to sneak around Giles’ no-trade clause.

Boston winning the claim means all NL teams passed on Giles, as well as most AL teams.

In a development that was first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune and then confirmed by several other media outlets, the Red Sox claimed veteran outfielder Brian Giles off of waivers from The San Diego Padres. According to the Boston Globe, the claim was put in on Wednesday. The Red Sox have exclusive negotiating rights with the Padres for 48 hours, meaning the situation should be resolved by Friday.

If a trade can’t be worked out, the 37-year-old Giles would stay with the Padres.

Giles confirmed the report to media members at Shea Stadium following San Diego’s 5-3 loss to the Mets on Thursday afternoon, saying he had spoken by phone with Padres general manager Kevin Towers, and added that he might know more by the time the Padres landed in Colorado late Thursday night.

“They are a good team,” Giles, a left-handed hitter, said of the Red Sox.

Joe Bick, who represents Giles, declined to comment on the matter. Teams are not allowed to comment publicly on waiver claims, otherwise they face a severe fine from Major League Baseball.

Though Giles wouldn’t start for a Boston team that has Bay in left, Jacoby Ellsbury in center, J.D. Drew in right and David Ortiz at designated hitter, he would give the team an established bat off the bench, not to mention injury protection.

Ortiz came off the disabled list on July 25 after missing seven weeks with a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Though the left-handed slugger felt some “clicking” in the wrist in his last at-bat on Monday, he was fine in the ensuing two games against the Royals.

Adding another wrinkle to the situation is that the Red Sox are one of eight teams Giles can veto a trade to.

“It just comes down to comfort, you know?” Giles said. “This thing could go in a million different directions. … Right now, it’s very general.”

Conceivably, the Red Sox could have simply put in the waiver claim to block their fellow postseason contenders — the Angels and Rays — from getting Giles. But the Boston Herald, citing a baseball source, reported that the Red Sox have legitimate interest in Giles and that was their only motive for making the claim.

The Padres hold a club option of $9 million on Giles for 2009, which comes with a $3 million buyout.

Giles said that one factor he would weigh as it pertains to a trade to the Red Sox is how he would fit into the club’s plans for 2009. That could be a sticking point, as Bay, Ellsbury and Drew are all under contract for 2009, as is backup center fielder Coco Crisp.

Giles is batting .295 with six home runs and 37 RBIs this season. Currently in his sixth season with the Padres, he has become comfortable in San Diego.

“It’s a business — main thing,” Giles said. “Like I said, it’s so general right now, there is nothing to report other than I have been claimed, and that’s it.”

Giles, a two-time All-Star, has played in 1,742 games, hitting .293 with 279 homers and 1,029 RBIs.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Jon Blau, an associate reporter for MLB.com, contributed to this report from New York. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs

Neither team may be interested, however.  Bowman says The Atlanta Bravesare looking for offense and prefer to develop their young pitchers.  And Maddux himself doesn’t think The Dodgers need pitching (after all, they’ve got Clayton Kershaw in the minors).

We learned on Friday That Padres GM Kevin Towers has informed Greg Madduxof which teams are interested, and Maddux will take the break to consider his options.  Would he be up for The Philadelphia Phillies or  The St. Louis Cardinals?  Are those teams interested?

• GM Kevin Towers recently told Greg Maddux which teams have expressed interest in him.  The Professor will ponder his options over the break, since he controls his fate with a full no-trade clause.  Possible suitors like The Chicago Cubs and The Milwaukee Brewers may have backed off, I imagine.
• As expected, Randy Wolf is drawing interest.
• Tony Clark could be moved within a few days, with The Arizona Diamondbacks the rumored suitor.
• The Padres are only looking to move veterans, and want prospects in return.
• The Cubs recently inquired on The Padres shortstop Khalil Greene. Who prefer not to sell low on Greene, however.The Cubs have been linked to Khalil Greene in the past, and The Padres were asking about Felix Pie about a year ago. Perhaps Pie has lost the untouchable label with his .264/.315/.442 performance at Triple A.  He’s hitting better lately, though.

   Khalil Greene is on the first year of a two-year, $11MM deal.  He’s said he wants to stay in San Diego, though Kevin Towers once suggested he might prefer to be on The East Coast near his family. Khalil Greene’s had a rough year with a .216/.264/.329 line in 375 plate appearances.

The Padres have the starting rotation to make the post season, and in a short three game series I can really see them advancing.  When you have Jake Peavy and Chris Young throwing for you during the first two games you have got to always like your changes in a series.  Now you can add in Mark Prior who recently signed a one-year contact with the Padres to the rotation in probably June.

The question for the Padres however is their offense.  Will they be able to score enough runs to win the close ballgames at Petco?  You will be hitting a lot more doubles then home runs so you will have to play a lot of small ball.  That is my only question heading into the 2008 season for the Padres.  What do you think?  Do the Padres have enough firepower to make the playoffs in 08?  Leave us a comment and let your opinions be heard.